The Christmas markets in France are a real tourist success. But with more and more visitors, cities must be more vigilant and prepared to welcome many people.
Crowds are getting bigger and bigger in the aisles of French Christmas markets. In Strasbourg, “there are many, many people in the narrow streets”, testifies Christophe, a tourist a little tired of being stepped on, who “finds it oppressive”.
In front of the chalets, facing the cathedral, hundreds of tourists crowd. Sometimes it's a little too much for Tiffany, who came from Réunion for the market: “It's not that practical.”
This year the Strasbourg Christmas market is playing overtime. He started late, so he treats himself three days after Christmas, once is not customary. In 2023, in one month, more than 3 million people flocked there, and this year, the market continues to appeal. Hervé Guitton can easily see this crowd behind his stall:
“On Saturdays, I don’t see the ground for example.”
“The more people are there, the better it is for us since there is really this feeling that the planet is coming to see us in Strasbourg. We can be stuck sometimes, but we move slowly anyway, it's Christmas, we have time”, rejoices this seller.
One-way streets, possible closure of access, Strasbourg town hall has taken measures to avoid congestion, and it is a success, according to Patrick Balga, president of the National Union of Fairground Industrialists: “It went extremely well The flow was well channeled everywhere, the city did what it had to do, so there is no problem.”
Arras market under high security
In Arras, in Pas-de-Calais, the town hall has also put in place numerous security measures so that the event takes place in the best conditions. The latter were even reinforced after the attack which hit the Magdeburg Christmas market in Germany.
“Immediately we took additional measures even though the Arras market is already very secure for many reasons. The first is that we have 35 years of experience on the subject. The second is that We work hand in hand with the security forces and the prefecture. The third is that we have invested every year in security conditions, gates, barriers, which are very adapted. it happened in Germany, is that we banned a traffic lane to complete risk prevention”, explains Frédéric Leturque, the mayor of Arras, in Apolline Matin, Thursday on RMC and RMC Story.
The elected official is very satisfied and judges the 2024 edition to be “a real success”, with “an extraordinary influx of visitors”.
“The idea was to break the concentration of the market on a single square and to spread it over all the squares in the city, to create an atmosphere, a screen and ultimately to allow users, visitors, consumers wander around and have a pleasant time,” explains Frédéric Leturque.
“We will have 1.5 million visitors when it closes on December 29. It’s a real success this year. We are very happy,” rejoices the mayor of Arras.
Lucile Pascanet and Tanguy Roman Clavelloux
